Flip over to eStatements

With eStatements from Northwest Resource, you can view your statements electronically through Online Banking, rather than receiving paper statements in the mail.

Enjoy the benefits of eStatements:

• Green. eStatements are environmentally friendly, cutting down on paper use and
  delivery emissions.
• Fast. As soon as your statement is generated, you’re notified it is ready. No more waiting for “snail mail”.
• Convenient. Save, print, and view 15 months worth of statements online whenever you need to. No more paper to file or shred.
• Safe. eStatements help guard against identity theft because they replace paper statements that can be lost or stolen.
• Secure. Our online services are fully protected with industry standard encryption and firewalls.

Sign up for eStatements and be entered to win a Flip Video Camera!

When you sign up for eStatements before September 30, 2010, you’ll be entered to win a Flip Video Camera.* Plus, we’ll give you 200 Resource Rewards points.

Signing up is simple.

1. Log into Online Banking. (If you don’t have an Online Banking username and password, just ask us to set you up.)
2. Click on “eStatements”. (Please note: you must allow pop-ups on your browser for eStatements to work.)
3. Read and accept the Enrollment and Agreement and provide your email address so that we can send you an email notice when your statement is ready each month.

* No purchase necessary. Click here for official rules.

[ back to top ]

What's Your Score?
We’ll show you a free copy of your credit report and explain how to read it.

If you've ever applied for a credit card, a personal loan, or insurance, there's a file about you. This file contains information on where you work and live, how you pay your bills, and whether you've filed for bankruptcy. This file is better known as your “credit report”. Information contained in your credit report is then statistically calculated to give you your “credit score”.

Knowing what's on your credit report is very important, particularly if you are about to buy a house, apply for a loan, or in some cases even a job. You need to know what information is on your report so any mistakes can be corrected. You can also protect yourself from identity theft by reviewing your report for accounts you did not open.

At Northwest Resource, we’re here to help take the mystery out of your credit report. All you need to do is stop by our branch or call for an appointment and ask for your free credit report and score with the What’s Your Score program. We’ll run your credit report, show you how to read it, explain your credit score, teach you ways to improve your score, and help you make sure that everything in your credit report is accurate.

Together, we’ll navigate your credit report and credit score in this changing economic environment so you may continue on life’s journeys. Call today to make an appointment to review your credit report with a Financial Service Representative. Or just stop by next time you are in the neighborhood.

[ back to top ]

Opt-In to Overdraft Protection

Recent regulatory changes affect how overdrafts are handled, so we are asking you to take action and indicate your choice for the way overdrafts are handled on your Northwest Resource checking account.

When there isn’t enough money in your account to cover a transaction, it causes an overdraft. In the past we paid it anyway, but now you need to tell us how to handle overdrafts. We can cover them in two different ways:

• Transfer overdraft protection. We will make transfers from your Line of Credit, Visa Credit Card, or other savings account you designate at Northwest Resource when funds are available. There is a $3 fee for each transfer. Otherwise, the standard $25 overdraft fee applies (see below).
• Standard overdraft protection. This allows us to overdraft your account at our disscretion. We do not guarantee that we will always authorize and pay any type of transaction. If we do not authorize and pay an overdraft, the transaction will be returned or declined. The charge for this type of overdraft is $25 per transaction.

Beginning August 15, 2010 we will not authorize and pay overdrafts for ATM transactions or everyday debit card transactions unless you “Opt-In” to the Overdraft Protection Service with us by calling 503-220-2592 or by printing and returning the Overdraft Opt-In form.

[ back to top ]

Ride On with Motorcycle Financing

Motorcycle Loans from Northwest Resource offer Porltand riders some of the best rates in the market:

• Same low fixed rates for both new and used motorcycles -- as low as 3.25%*
• Purchase or refinance from another lender
• Terms up to 84 months
• 100% financing for new motorcycles; for used motorcycles, you may qualify for up to 100% of NADA retail value
• No loan fees or application fees

Apply online, by phone at 503.220.2592, in person, or at participating dealerships.

*Annual Percentage Rate as of 5/1/10 and valid through 7/31/10. Rate assumes automatic payment from NRFCU checking account. Add 0.25% for regular payment. Rate may vary based on credit history and term chosen.

[ back to top ]

Our Credit Card made the Dean's List!

Credit Card Connection is a not-for-profit effort organized to connect consumers directly to the most fair and ethical credit card programs in the country - the type of cards all consumers deserve to have. To be included on Credit Card Connection's Dean's List, the credit card program has to earn 5 stars:

1. Rates cannot exceed 18% APR.
2. No balance transfer fees.
3. No penalty rate.
4. Late fees at or less than $25.00.
5. No annual fee.

Northwest Resource's credit card made the grade! Learn more about our credit card program and make the switch to a fair and ethical credit card. Plus, you'll even earn rewards!

[ back to top ]

2010 Marks Our 75th Anniversary!
It also marks 75 years of service to members.

Seventy-five years ago, in 1935, our nation was deep in the grip of the Great Depression. Wall Street was still a long way from recovering from the crash of 1929, banks had continued to fail in large numbers, and unemployment remained over 20%. The worst was over, though, and by 1935 the economic recovery had finally begun. In Portland, our credit union was born—the fifth oldest credit union in Oregon.

Gasco Employees’ Federal Credit Union was chartered on October 15, 1935. Eleven employees of the Portland Gas and Coke Company pooled their money in the new not-for-profit financial cooperative. The purpose of the credit union was to provide a safe place for fellow gas company employees to save and borrow money at reasonable rates.

The maximum loan amount in 1935 was $50 for an unsecured loan and $100 for secured. The interest rate was 1% per month on the unpaid balance. Money went further then. The average cost of a new house was $3,450. Average wages were $1,600 per year. Gas cost 10 cents a gallon.

In those days, ordinary people had great difficulty in getting a loan from a bank, so the credit union was just what many members needed to make their way through difficult economic times. Seventy-five years later, the wheel has turned full circle. We are again mired in an economic recession, and as before, Northwest Resource is where members can turn for low cost loans, federally insured savings, and other essential financial services.

This steadfastness can be directly credited to you, our members. Your participation in our cooperative through the years has allowed us to provide members with the services they‘ve needed through good times and through bad. That remains true today, and with your continued participation, will remain true for generations to come. We truly are “all in this together,” and the board and staff thank you for your support.

[ back to top ]

It's our birthday, but you get the presents.
Send us a new member and we'll present you each
with 750 Resource Rewards points.

In celebration of our 75th Anniversary, we will award 750 Resource Rewards points for each new member you refer to the credit union. The new member will also receive 750 Resource Rewards points.

The more members we have, the stronger our financial cooperative becomes—and that translates into better rates and more free or low cost services for all.

Why not tell your coworkers, friends, and relatives that Northwest Resource is a good
deal—and that they can join! It will be “a rewarding experience” for both of you! Just make sure they give us your name when they join so you will each get 750 Resource Rewards points!*

*New member must qualify for membership and open account.

[ back to top ]

Access wherever you are

Enjoy Surcharge-Free Access at 28,000 CO-OP Network ATMs.
As a member of Northwest Resource, you are part of the largest credit union-only ATM network in the country. That means you have surcharge-free access at 28,000 ATMs (that’s 10,000 more than Bank of America’s 18,000), which includes 9,000 deposit-taking and 5,500 7-Eleven locations throughout the U.S. and Canada. You also have access to over 800,000 ATMs worldwide through NYCE, STAR, Cirrus, Pulse, and Plus networks.

Find the CO-OP ATM near you. You can also locate a CO-OP ATM via text message. Text your location – address, intersection or zip code – to 692667 (MYCOOP) from any mobile phone.

Handle transactions at over 3,600 Shared Branches.
As part of the Shared Branch network, you can handle most of your Northwest Resource transactions at over 3,600 participating credit union branches nationwide. You can go into any of these “shared branches” and do your transactions with a teller. There is no fee for making a deposit, cashing a check, or most other services. You just need a photo I.D. and your Northwest Resource account number.

There are 79 Shared Branches in Oregon, so there may be a location more convenient to you. Find a Shared Branch near you. Or call us at 503-220-2592 and we can help you find a convenient location.

[ back to top ]

Scam Alert - "Free" Trial Offers

Deceptive “free trial” offers, alluring come-ons to try a diet-pill, teeth whitening strips, wrinkle cream or get a “free report” (that reveals where you can pick up thousands of dollars in government grants!), are among the nation’s most sweeping scams, likely costing consumers billions of dollars annually.

The Better Business Bureau put out its list of 2009’s Top 10 Scams, but noted that those “free trial offers” just keep coming, spurring rafts of complaints. A recent crack-down by the Federal Trade Commission has convinced some online marketers to at least be a touch more up-front about the fact that you might get charged if you don’t cancel.

But a quick look at some of the companies that caused many of last year’s complaints found plenty of continuing abuses.  “Acai“–a weight-loss supplement supposedly touted by Oprah– touted a free trial that supposedly would only charge a buck for shipping, for example. But flip to the bottom of the page where you can link to the “terms and conditions” and lo and behold. If you don’t cancel within 15 days of their “initial ship date” you’ll get charged $79.90 and another $87.31 every month thereafter. Will you know their initial ship date? Not likely.

But that’s not all. By taking this free trial, you’ll also be signed up for a free-trial of a weight loss program that will cost you $9.95 per month until you discover this unauthorized charge on your credit card and cancel it.

Let’s say that you want to whiten your teeth. TeethWhiteningStar  offers a “risk-free* trial.” (Note that they put an asterisk right after “risk-free.” Unfortunately, they lead you to believe that the asterisk refers to the shipping and handling charge, when your real risk is far, far greater.)

If you click on the “terms and conditions” (written in minuscule type at the very bottom of the page) up pops up terms for “My Everbright Smile” saying that you have just 10 days from the time you type your credit card number into the web site to cancel your free trial. It doesn’t matter that you probably haven’t received the product yet. After that, they’ll charge you for “the full cost of the product” even though their terms don’t spell out what that cost is.

Visa recently expunged 100 companies that it cited for "deceptive marketing practices" from its authorized vendor lists. If they get enough complaints like yours, they’ll not only reverse the charges, they’ll make it impossible for these crooks to take credit card payments.

[ back to top ]

• About Us
• Membership
• Resource Rewards
• Community Involvement